Apron taper



Dec. 8, 1959 w. w. HEBERT, JR 2,916,078

WW MMM/7M United States Patent O APRON TAPER Walter W. Hebert, Jr., deceased, late of St. Paul, Minn., by Mildred Y. Hebert, administratrix, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application August 26, 1954, Serial No. 452,268

1 Claim. (Cl. 1541.6)

The present invention provides an improvement which iin-ds utility in the application of liquid coatings such as paint, to a predetermined area of a given surface by adhering masking tape to masking paper in a manner to permit the temporary xation of the combined masking tape and paper to the area of the surface that is tobe left uncoated.

I In such operations, adhesive coated masking tape is applied along, and parallel to, one or more edges of a sheet `of the masking paper with a portion of the tape adhered to the marginal portion of one surface of the paper and the remaining portion of the tape extending beyond the edge of the paper. The exposed adhesive coated surface of the extending portion of the tape then serves to tix the combined sheet of paper and tape to the surface that is to be painted or otherwise coated in a position to cover or mask the area that is to be left uncoated. Both the paper and the tape are of a construction that renders them resistant to the passage of the paint or other coating material that is being used. After the latter has been applied, the paper and the tape are removed, leaving a sharp clear edge or line between the coated and uncoated areas of the surface. The removal is facilitated by using masking tape of the normally tacky pressure-sensitive adhesive type.

Such masking paper is frequently referred to as apron paper, and the devices that are used for adhering the tape to the paper as apron tapers.

The apron tapers heretofore known however, are defective in some respects, one problem being to avoid Wrinkles in the paper and/or the tape where the two join. Such wrinkles are undesirable. They sometimes .permit the coating material to seep through between the tape and the paper onto the masked area of the surface being coated. a A p One objective of the presentwinvention,therefore is t provide an apron taper which will produce a taped apron that is more nearly wrinkle-free.

The invention is primarily characterized by a combining roller over which the tape and the paper pass as they are lwithdrawn under tension from respective separate sources of supply, during which passage they meet and are adhered together. The paper is supplied to the roller from a direction that will effect a wrap around a portion of the peripheral surface of the roller when the paper is being withdrawn from the supply to the roller and thence away from the roller in a given plane tangent to the peripheral surface of the roller, and the tape is similarly supplied to the roller from a direction that will effect a wrap around a portion of the peripheral surface of the roller when the tape is being withdrawn from the supply to the roller and thence away from the roller in the same said given plane, the wrap of the tape however, being shorter than the wrap of the paper.

The roller is mounted for free rotation about a horizontal axis. The paper is supplied under tension to the under peripheral surface of the roller from a direction ICC that will eiect a Wrap around the rear peripheral surface of the roller when the paper is being withdrawn from the supply to the roller and thence forwardly in a horizontal plane tangent to the uppermost peripheral surface of the roller. The tape is supplied under tension to the upper rear peripheral surface of the roller from the rear at an acute angle to a rearward extension of the said horizontal plane. f

The capacity of the taper to produce wrinkle-free taped aprons is enhanced by employing a combining roller that is a composite roller made up of a plurality of shorter unitary rollers mounted in end to end relation for free rotation independently of each other about a common axis. This permits an arrangement whereby the portion of the combining roller that contacts the adhesive sur. face of the tape turns independently of nearly all the portion that contacts the paper, thereby eliminating or at least substantially reducing transmission through the combining roller of propulsion impulse from tape t0 paper or paper to tape. The paper and the tape each may then more nearly attain its own stretch as they are v being drawn through the taper.

Apron tapers embodying the above described principles have been found to produce wrinkle-free taped aprons*y more uniformly and consistently than do the known previous devices.

The tapers may be constructed to accommodate a sinlgle roll of paper or a plurality of rolls of the same or` lustrative embodiment accommodates two rolls of paper.

of diiferent widths and applies pressure-sensitive adhesive tape to one edge of each of the two webs of paper.

In the drawings of the said illustrative machine:

Figure l is a plan view; and

Figure 2 is a side elevation. f

A supply roll 10 of apron paper 11 is mounted for free rotation about a horizontal axis 12.

A supply roll 15 of normally tacky pressure-sensitive adhesive masking tape 16 is mounted for free rotation about a horizontal axis 17, to the rear of and in spaced relation to the paper supply roll 10.

Between the paper supply roll 10 and the tape supply roll 15, and in spaced relation to each, is a combining,

horizontal axis 21.

Forwardly of the combining roller 20, well toward the;k

front of the machine, a web-supporting roller 25 is mount` ed for free rotation abouta horizontal axis 26.

The axes 12, 17, 21 and 26 are parallel, and the uppermost peripheral surfaces of the rollers 20 and 25 lie in a common horizontal plane.

The paper 11 passes rearwardly from the supply 10 to the under peripheral surface of the combining roller 20, around the rear peripheral surface of the roller and thence forwardly. The tape 16 passes forwardly from the supply 15, adhesive side down, to the upper rear peripheral surface of the combining roller 20, at which point the paper and the tape are united by adhesion and are `drawn forwardly in the direction of the arrows 30 as a combined web 31 of paper 11 and tape 16 over the combining roller 20, thence over the web-supporting roller 25 and thence to a knife 32. The tape roll 15 is positioned so that the central portion of the tape 16 will be aligned with the edge of the paper 11. The tape overlies the paper.

The axis 17 about which the supply roll 15 of tape turns, is positioned so that the length of tape 116 that extends forwardly from the supply 15 to the combining Patented Dec. 8, 1959- roller 20, will be below and at an acute angle 35 to a rearward extension 36 of the horizontal plane that is common to the uppermost peripheral surfaces of the rollers 20 and 25. The angle 35 is approximately 9.

The axis 12 about which the supply roll 10 of paper turns is positioned to effect a wrap of the paper around the rear peripheral surface of the combining roller 20. The wrap is maintained at a constant length throughout the life of the supply roll by a bar 40 positioned adjacent and parallel to the roller 20 beneath the length of paper that extends from the supply 10 to the roller 20, the bar bearing upwardly against the under surface of the paper. The said Wrap is approximately 180 (180 of the circumference of the roller 20).

The wrap of the tape `around the roller is shorter than the wrap of the paper around the roller. The combining of the two takes place on the roller.

The paper 11 is placed under tension as the combined web 31 is drawn forwardly, by an vadjustable brake means 41.

The tension for the normally tacky tape `16 is provided by its own resistance to unwinding.

The combining roller 20` is a composite roller made up of a plurality of shorter unitary rollers 45, 45 and 46. Similarly the web-supporting roller 25 is made up of a plurality of shorter unitary rollers 50, 50 and 5.1.

The unitary rollers 45 and l50 are of a length chiey to underlie only the tape 16, whereas the unitary rollers 46 and 51 underlie nearly all of the width of the pap-er 11. This eliminates or at least substantially reduces transmission through the combining and web-supporting rollers of propulsion impulse from tape to paper or paper `to tape. The paper and the tape each may then more nearly attain its own stretch 'as they are being drawn through the machine.

The provision of such composite rollers also permits the mounting and simultaneous use of additional sets of supply rolls of paper and of tape in the same machine, such as the paper roll 10 and the tape roll 15 in the illustrated machine, the paper 11 and the tape 16' being dispensed and combined to form the taped web 31 in the same manner as is described above for the paper 11 and the tape 16.

There are numerous alternatives and variables, all within the scope of the invention as herein described and claimed, examples of which are enumerated below.

If normally dry or non-tacky tape that is activated by moistening or solvents or heat, is used, an activating means is then inserted between the supply roll and the combining roller 20, a braking means such as the means 41 is provided for the roll l15 to provide tension, and the roll 1S is lowered to compensate for the tangential take-off that occurs when dry tape is unwound instead of the radial take-off of tacky tape.

The machine is customarily operated manually by grasping the leading end of the web 31 and drawing it in the direction of the arrows 30 and then cutting oirthe desired length by a suitable cutting means indicated by the knife 32.

It is quite Obvious that the illustrated machine could be placed for use in positons such that the planar length of the web 31 that extends from the combining roller 20 to the web-supporting roller 2S would be other than horizontal. For example, the machine could be mounted on a vertical wall, and the said length would then be vertical. Hence the terms horizontaL rear, uppermost and the like, are relative and not limiting.

What is claimed is:

An apron taper comprising a combining roller and a web-supporting roller mounted in spaced relation to each other for free rotation about parallel axes and being aligned to support a combined web of apron paper and adhesive tape that extends forwardly from the combining roller to the Web-supporting roller in contact with the uppermost peripheral surfaces of the two rollers, the said uppermost surfaces lying in a common horizontal plane, and the combining roller and the web-supporting roller being composite rollers, each being made up of a plurality of shorter unitary rollers mounted in end to end relation for free rotation independently of each other about a common axis; means for supplying the apron pap-er under tension to the under peripheral surface of the combining roller; a guide bar positioned adjacent and parallel to the combining roller, the relative positions of the paper supply and the guide `bar being such that the bar will bear upwardly against the under surface of the paper as the paper extends from the paper supply to the combining roller, and the guide bar being positioned to effect a wrap of approximately around the rear peripheral Surface of the combining roller; and means for supplying the 4adhesive tape under tension to the upper rear peripheral surface of the combining roller from the rear at an angle of approximately 9 to and below a rearward extension of the said horizontal plane, the central portion of the tape being `aligned with one edge of the apron paper, and the tape overlying the paper with the adhesive `side facing the paper.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,564,374 Smith Dec. 8, 1925 1,591,062 Smith July 6, 1926 1,963,666 McCarthy et al. Iune 19, 1934 2,012,014 McCarthy Aug. 20, 1935 2,180,338 Cloud Nov. 21, 1939 2,307,406 Howard Jan. 5, 1943 2,493,056 Bartelson Jan. 3, 1950 2,522,773 Bihary Sept. 19, 1950 2,638,341 Silver May 12, 1953 2,675,746 Conti Apr. 20, 1954 

